A few weeks ago, I slipped off to my favorite park — very early in the morning. The temperature was moderate (for Florida). There was a lovely, gauzy mist stretching through the woods. I could see several different species of birds. Among them was a pair of Scrub Jays. These birds have a very limited habitat and are on the endangered species list.

While sitting at a picnic table with my Bible open, I glanced up and saw an incredible sight. Ospreys are very large and quite beautiful. In their early years, they look a lot like eagles. One of the differences is in their choice of nest building sites. The eagle prefers to get as far away from humans as possible, although that’s not very easy to do here in this part of Florida. The osprey will build within a few yards of a shopping center, busy highway, or cluster of homes.

As I looked up, an osprey suddenly swooped down and snatched a fish out of the small lake right in front of me. As if that weren’t plenty (and we all know it should be), a bald eagle suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He circled a couple of times, then flew straight at the osprey. They briefly performed a beautiful wing duel. Had they been war planes, one would have heard the rattle of machine gun fire and the swooooooosh of missiles. The osprey suddenly turned the fish loose. Without missing a beat, the eagle swooped down, snatched the fish in mid-air and headed for home.

I just sat there, spellbound. My mind was “reeling” (as in fish…get it?). There’s something very special about being in the right place at the right time and witnessing an event like this in nature. I soon spotted one of my ranger friends. As I excitedly told her about my neat experience, she just grinned. She explained to me that this scenario occurred nearly every morning. When it first began, the eagle would confront the osprey while both were still over the lake. Often, when released, the fish fell back into the water. The eagle learned to wait until the osprey was over land to keep the fish from falling into the water.

P.S. After Pat (spouse extraordinaire) proof-read this piece, she shared a different point-of-view — hers! She pointed out that the eagle was basically engaging in shenaniganous behavior…the eagle, acting like a bully, stole the fish. Well, I countered that I wasn’t drawing any moral or ethical conclusions from this incident. I explained that in the animal kingdom, it’s often a dog-eat-dog world… the food chain; the weak and the strong. The longer I talked, the more I realized that humans often exist on a “dog-eat-dog” level, too. Oh, well, you’ll have to draw your own conclusions!

What Life Lessons did I learn
from this aviarian encounter?

• One of the neatest thing one can do is creep into nature’s domain and drink it in.
• One is sometimes rewarded with unusual and exciting glimpses into the natural world.
• If an eagle can recognize its shortcomings, change its behavior, and improve its performance, what kind of excuses can human beings offer?

I love to observe and study animals. They teach me a lot. Maybe I’ll share more about my adventures in the animal kingdom down the road. The French Fried Squirrel comes to mind. No promises. Have patience!

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